


Unwinding

by thesilverarrow



Series: Neville/Draco Ficlets [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, Jealousy, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:17:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1649978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesilverarrow/pseuds/thesilverarrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He doesn't even have to look up to know that Draco is finally making his way over – and quickly. Probably thinks he's being nonchalant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unwinding

He doesn't even have to look up to know that Draco is finally making his way over – and quickly. Probably thinks he's being nonchalant. Neville snorts and takes another drink from his half-neglected pint.

"There you are," Draco says, settling onto the stool beside him.

"Here I am. You ready to go home?"

"Soon. Wanted one more pint."

To his credit, Draco waits until he's ordered, received, and drunk half of his glass of ale before he meanders toward what he really means to say. 

"Good evening?" Draco asks.

"Sure. Good beer, good company."

"I saw."

Oh, yes you did, Neville thinks. But he forces his voice to sound casual: 

"A friend."

"Well, that _friend_ was chatting you up."

Neville just shrugs. "Was he? I can never tell."

"Bullshit," Draco replies, a hint of a sneer in his voice. 

Oh, lordy.

"Okay, so I can tell," Neville says. "What's the big deal? Flirting is just…flirting." When Draco doesn't respond, he adds, "Besides, I didn't think you were the jealous type."

"Why?" Draco replies, his whole body suddenly a bit tense. Then his voice, instead of growing snappish, aggressive, goes downright gloomy. "Because I'd be a hypocrite if I was?"

"I didn't say that."

"You were thinking it."

"Might have been." Before Draco can bite back with anything, he adds, "But for the record, I don't care that you bat your eyelashes at every bloke that smiles at you. And a few birds."

"I do not."

"Yes, you do," he replies, his voice warm and light. "It's just how you are. And I mean it – I don't care."

"You don't mind, or you don't care?"

"I would care very much if I thought it would go anywhere."

"But you don't mind."

"If you weren't like you are, we never would have gotten together, would we?"

Draco smiles, and his hand comes down on Neville's knee, not teasing or testing, just friendly. Maybe with a bit of claim implied. 

"I honestly didn't realize I was flirting with you," Draco murmurs. "Not at first."

"I know. It was sort of adorable."

Draco gives his thigh a sharp squeeze, muttering, "Fuck you."

"I'm serious. It was fun. I never, ever imagined it would lead to anything."

"Well, you flirted back."

Neville looks at him and grins. "Oh yes, I definitely did."

"And it was nothing like with that bloke just now."

Into his beer, he says, "Nope."

"He was watching your arse when you went to the bar."

Now, that was a surprise.

"Yeah?" Neville says.

"And he kept putting his hand on your arm."

"Cheeky bugger," Neville says in mock offense.

"I'm glad you think this is funny."

"Of course it's funny. Jealousy is ridiculous." 

Taking in Draco's affronted expression, he gives himself a minute to think. The man will need to hear a story in kind, and there are simply too many. Of course, there aren't many that actually make his skin crawl.

Finally, Neville says, "It was especially ridiculous, by the way, when you had that long, very earnest talk with Charlie Weasley. You know, the one that involved a damn sight too much grinning and backslapping. I'm pretty sure I saw you lean your head on his shoulder a couple of times."

Draco frowns. "We were pretty pissed. And he's straight."

"And if he weren't?"

Draco snorts. "He'd still be one of the most harmless flirts I ever met."

Neville shot him a hot look. "He almost didn't leave the pub harmless, let me tell you."

Draco's eyes go wide – not like he actually believes him, but he appreciates the hell out of the sentiment anyway.

"Really?"

"The man's a fucking dragon tamer. Don't tell me that's not hot."

"I won't," Draco replies with a wicked smile, one that keeps evolving into a pleased smile.

"What?"

"You really were jealous."

"Yes, I really was. And it was stupid. And you're stupid if you think I'd drop you and run off with the first bloke I met at a pub."

Draco rolls his eyes. After a moment, he says:

"You know, all I could think was I wanted to come up and throw my arms around you, maybe grope you a little for good measure."

"Grope me?"

"Something to make that arsehole squirm."

"Maybe you should next time. How else is an arsehole to know I’m taken?"

"You tell him."

"I did," Neville says, draining the last of his pint. Without looking at Draco, he says, "I said, See the tall, sort of angry-looking blonde." He grins at Draco now. "That one's mine. I'll buy you a drink if you have it with me and laugh at everything I say."

Draco's eyes go almost impossibly wide. "You did not."

"I did. Granted, we were already drinking and talking before that, since he's got one of my old temps from the secretary pool, but…"

As recognition dawns on his face, Draco murmurs, "Blimey."

"Yep."

"The bloke from Muggle Records."

"Yes, Stewart Cosgrove from Muggle Records. Happily married and happy to wait out the last football scores helping me drive you crazy. It's what you get for lurking and being weird instead of just coming over."

"Didn't want to interrupt your life."

"Last I checked, you're part of my life."

"Yes, enough that I was not entirely _lurking and being weird_. For the last half hour, I've been out in the alley talking your dear Weasley out of apparating back to Granger's. Rangy git hasn't figured out yet that it takes most women – or, I don't know, most people – hours, not minutes, to calm down after a fight."

"True. But it was probably not calm he was aiming for."

"No?"

"From what I gather, they're operating more along the line of our make-up methods."

Draco snorts, murmuring, "Shout some and then fuck as loudly and aggressively as possible?"

"Apparently, it's a good method. Bruises aside."

"I don't mind the bruises," Draco replies, then he waves at the woman behind the counter, to get their tab. 

"Home, then?" Neville says.

"Oh yes."

As they slip out into the alley and find Ron very much not there, Draco shakes his head. 

"Oh, well," Neville says. "Probably a good thing, all told."

Draco nods, replying, "She always was wound a bit too tightly."

"Says the original human spring."

"C'mon, then, and unwind me," Draco replies, bumping his hip against Neville's, then giving a quick glance over the alley before disapparating.


End file.
